Thief

# Thief with Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination delivers a performance profile in Thief that is heavily influenced by resolution, with the GPU becoming the dominant constraint as pixel count rises. Across the measured 12 data points, the combo produces frame rates ranging from 56.9 FPS at 4K Ultra up to 184.2 FPS at 1080p Low, demonstrating a wide operational envelope that shifts from CPU-leaning at lower resolutions to GPU-bound at higher ones. The RTX 3080 Ti, with its 12 GB GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth, pairs with a 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake processor that boosts to 4.70 GHz, creating a system that ranks 367th out of 1,642 tested combos in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rate data shows a clear and predictable drop as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop varies significantly by settings preset. At High settings, moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 reduces average FPS from 146.4 to 99.1, a 32.3% decrease, while the step from 1440p to 3840x2160 brings the average down to 61.5 FPS, another 38.0% reduction from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p but the frame rate does not drop proportionally—suggesting that other bottlenecks, likely CPU-related, cap performance at lower resolutions.

At Low settings, the resolution scaling is even more pronounced in absolute terms. The 1080p Low result of 184.2 FPS drops to 159.1 FPS at 1440p, a 13.6% reduction, and then to 101.5 FPS at 4K, a 36.2% drop from the 1440p figure. The relatively modest decline from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings—only 25.1 FPS—contrasts with the 47.3 FPS drop at High settings across the same resolution step. This suggests that at Low settings and 1080p, the CPU is nearing its performance ceiling, as the i5-14400F's 10 cores and 16 threads at boost clocks up to 4.70 GHz struggle to feed the RTX 3080 Ti enough frames to push much beyond 184 FPS.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. From 1080p Ultra at 140.6 FPS to 1440p Ultra at 95.6 FPS, the drop is 45.0 FPS, and then to 4K Ultra at 56.9 FPS, another 38.7 FPS reduction. The 4K Ultra result of 56.9 FPS is the lowest measured figure in the entire dataset, indicating that this setting combination pushes the GPU to its limits. The scaling from 1440p to 4K across all presets—averaging roughly a 38-40% reduction—confirms that the RTX 3080 Ti's 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 186.5 GPixel/s pixel rate are the determining factors at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the dominant component in determining Thief's performance at 4K, and its specifications explain the observed scaling. With 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs, the Ampere-based GA102 chip provides substantial raw throughput. The memory subsystem—12 GB of GDDR6X across a 384-bit bus delivering 912.4 GB/s—is particularly relevant for a 2014 stealth title that was released before the era of massive texture budgets, but the bandwidth still matters for maintaining consistent frame delivery at high resolutions.

The GPU's clock behavior, with a base of 1365 MHz and boost up to 1665 MHz, is modest by modern standards, but the sheer width of the memory bus compensates. At 4K Ultra, the 56.9 FPS average suggests the GPU is fully utilized, as the frame rate sits just above the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. At 1080p Low, the 184.2 FPS result indicates the GPU is not the bottleneck; instead, the CPU's single-thread performance becomes the limiting factor, as the i5-14400F's PassMark single-thread score of 3723 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3093 represent the ceiling for frame generation in lightly threaded scenes.

The RTX 3080 Ti's 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,224, places it in the upper tier of graphics cards, though its nearest rivals—the RTX 3090 at 41,441 (0.5% faster), the Radeon Pro 5300 at 41,610 (0.9% faster), and the RTX 5070 at 41,687 (1.1% faster)—show that it is closely matched with several other high-end options. In Thief, the GPU's 12 GB VRAM is unlikely to be a constraint at any of the tested settings, as the game's 2014 release date predates the high-resolution texture packs that would later stress memory capacity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F plays a supporting role in Thief, but its performance characteristics determine the upper bounds of frame rates at lower resolutions. With 10 cores and 16 threads, the Raptor Lake processor offers strong multi-threaded capabilities, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21,914 and Geekbench multi-core score of 11,209. However, Thief is not a heavily threaded title, and the CPU's single-core performance—2.50 GHz base, 4.70 GHz boost—is what matters most for frame generation.

At 1080p Low, the 184.2 FPS average represents a practical ceiling imposed by the CPU's single-thread throughput. The fact that moving from Low to Medium at 1080p only reduces the average from 184.2 to 162.3 FPS, and then to High at 146.4 FPS, indicates that the GPU begins to take on more workload as settings increase, but the CPU is still capable of feeding it adequately. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 140.6 FPS, which is only 5.8 FPS lower than High, suggesting that the additional graphical effects in Ultra are not disproportionately taxing the CPU.

The i5-14400F's 88th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32,508, places it in the upper echelon of processors. Its nearest rivals—the Core i7-12800H at 32,513 (0% difference), the Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 at 32,446 (0.2% slower), the Ryzen 7 250 at 32,584 (0.2% faster), and the Core i7-13705H at 32,586 (0.2% faster)—show that the CPU is competitively positioned within a tight performance band. The 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core help maintain responsive frame times, particularly in the stealth game's indoor environments where draw calls and AI computations can spike.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 367th out of 1,642 tested combos in Thief, placing it in the top 22.4% of all configurations. This ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component severely bottlenecks the other, though the resolution-dependent results show that the GPU is more critical at 4K while the CPU matters more at 1080p. The rank of 367 is notably higher than the individual component percentiles might suggest—the GPU's 83rd percentile and CPU's 88th percentile would imply a combined ranking around the 70th percentile, but the actual result is better, indicating that this pairing works particularly well for this title.

The measured data supports this ranking by showing consistent performance across all presets. At 1440p, which is often considered the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate gaming, the combo delivers 159.1 FPS at Low, 133 FPS at Medium, 99.1 FPS at High, and 95.6 FPS at Ultra. These figures are all above the 60 FPS threshold, and even the most demanding 4K Ultra preset at 56.9 FPS is close to playable. The fact that the combo ranks 367th out of 1,642 suggests that while it is not at the very top of the performance hierarchy, it is well above the median and capable of handling Thief with room to spare at most settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rate data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, all four presets deliver playable performance, but the High preset at 146.4 FPS offers the best balance between visual quality and frame rate. The Ultra preset at 140.6 FPS provides a marginal improvement in visuals for a 5.8 FPS cost, but the difference is unlikely to be noticeable in gameplay. The Low preset at 184.2 FPS is unnecessary for most users, as the High preset already exceeds 144 Hz refresh rates.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 133 FPS is the recommended choice for users with 120 Hz or 144 Hz displays, as it maintains a high frame rate while offering improved visual fidelity over Low. The High preset at 99.1 FPS is also viable for users with 100 Hz displays, and the Ultra preset at 95.6 FPS remains above 60 FPS, making it a reasonable choice for those prioritizing image quality. The Low preset at 159.1 FPS is overkill for most displays and sacrifices too much visual quality.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. The High preset at 61.5 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold and represents the best playable option, while the Medium preset at 77.6 FPS offers a smoother experience with a modest reduction in visual quality. The Ultra preset at 56.9 FPS falls below 60 FPS and may result in noticeable stutter on standard 60 Hz displays, making it a poor choice. The Low preset at 101.5 FPS is technically playable but sacrifices significant visual quality for frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most 4K displays. For the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 4K provides the highest frame rate above 60 FPS while retaining acceptable visual detail.